Untitled
by FlameMagic177
Summary: After all these years of torment Draco has put Harry through, he decides it's time to change. But will Harry forgive Draco for everything he's done?  Work in progress, will be submitting more chapters later.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters within this story. The characters belong to JK Rowling.**

**Just to say my friend wrote a review but she didn't realise she was still on my account. That's why it looks like I've sent a review to myself.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Draco Malfoy stepped out of the cold, windy weather and onto the Hogwarts Express. He caught sight of Crabbe and Goyle stood up in the aisle. They were holding a box of doughnuts and cramming them into their mouths at an alarming speed. Their vast stomachs almost filled the entire aisle, and angry students attempted to squeeze past as they boarded the train.

'Crabbe! Goyle!' Draco called out to his fellow Slytherins, 'What are you doing here? You're blocking the way, you gluttonous idiots!' Their faces filled with fear as Draco approached, and they quickly started making their way down the aisle to find an available compartment.

The train was packed full of students, all heading towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco was about to start his sixth year there and was hoping to fulfil the wishes of the Dark Lord and kill the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

As they reached the end of the aisle, Draco spotted a free compartment, so he slid open the doors, only to find out that the compartment was in fact occupied. Sat on the long seat and staring straight into Draco's eyes, was Harry Potter.

There was a moment of silence as their eyes locked. Draco felt a strange sensation sweep over him as he maintained eye contact with his enemy, a sensation he had never experienced before. He couldn't quite work out what it was. He found he was unable to find any words to force out of his mouth to break the silence, but when he felt Crabbe poke him in the shoulder with his chubby finger, he managed to snap back to reality and stutter out a sentence.

'Well, well, well, look who it is. The famous Harry Potter,' Draco noticed Harry now couldn't look at him, and though it may have just been his imagination, Draco could've sworn Harry's cheeks were going a faint shade of red. 'Mind if we join you, Potter?'

Harry looked confused, but shook his head quickly and returned to his copy of the Daily Prophet. Draco strode into the compartment, and sat on the seat opposite Harry. Crabbe and Goyle sat on either side of him, and Draco felt the seat sink dramatically.

'How're you and your girlfriend then, Potter?' Draco said sharply, 'You know, that Weasley girl. Seems like all you can get these days are ginger friends.' Crabbe and Goyle started to laugh hysterically, but Draco shot daggers at each of them and they quickly quieted down.

Harry slowly lowered his newspaper, and behind his round glasses were eyes filled with fury. 'She is not my girlfriend,' he stated slowly, trying hard not to lose his temper.

'Oh yeah, I forgot, isn't she seeing Dean Thomas?' Draco sneered, 'I bet your other ginger friend will have a word or two to say about that. Speak of the devil, look who's here.'

Ron Weasley appeared in the doorway with Hermione Granger, and shot a look of confusion and slight fear at Harry. 'What are they doing in here?' he asked, tilting his head towards Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco let out a low laugh. 'Your little four-eyed friend let us… enter his compartment,' he winked at Harry. 'Didn't know you were into that type of thing.'

'Good one, Draco,' Crabbe chuckled at his friend's joke.

Draco cruelly laughed along with his fellow Slytherins, although he couldn't help noticing a hint of seriousness to his seemingly humorous comment. He decided not to think too much of it, after all, he'd been having strange thoughts all day. Draco just hoped his idiotic friends wouldn't notice his hesitant reaction.

'Shut it, Malfoy,' Ron said, stepping forward and pointing his wand at Draco. 'I bet you'd love to "enter Harry's compartment", you gay boy.' Hermione placed her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down, but he shook it off.

Harry stood up, and without saying a word to Draco, headed towards the door. 'Come on, guys, let's go.' He grabbed Ron's arm and gently pulled him out of the compartment. Draco watched as Harry walked through the sliding doors, and started heading down the aisle. Harry turned back to look at Draco, and Draco quickly looked away and stared down at his robes. He noticed Harry had left his copy of the Daily Prophet on the seat, so he reached forward and grabbed it, and started reading it in an attempt to take his mind off Harry.

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><p>Draco entered the Great Hall for the first feast of the year. He noticed most students had already arrived and were talking excitedly about their holidays but most importantly, the fact that the Dark Lord had returned. Walking past the Gryffindor table, Draco noticed Ron glaring at his sister, Ginny, who seemed to be getting a bit too friendly with Dean Thomas. From what he could see, it was bothering Ron more than Harry, even though it was common knowledge that Harry had feelings for Ginny. Harry looked up and glared at Draco as he walked past, but Draco was unable to meet his gaze. He quickened his pace and found himself a seat on the Slytherin table where Harry Potter was out of sight.<p>

Draco sat in silence for a while, staring at the wooden table and trying to ignore all the thoughts that were spinning incessantly around his head. Thoughts about his recent encounters with Harry, thoughts about the Dark Lord's wishes, thoughts about living up to his father's expectations. He tried to forget about all the pressure that was on him, being an only child born into a family of Death Eaters. Draco knew he had to put on a brave face and get on with what he had to do, but a small part of him secretly wished for a normal school life, just like any other student at Hogwarts.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of Goyle's voice complaining about being hungry. Draco looked up stared incredulously at the overweight boy, wondering if he ever stopped eating. Goyle sat down next to him, closely followed by Crabbe, who nodded at Draco, then continued his intense debate with Goyle over what they hoped would be served at the feast. Draco was relieved to see the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore, stand up from his seat and walk over to the ornate lectern at the front of the stage. The loud chatter across the hall quickly descended into silence, and Professor Dumbledore gazed out across the hundreds of students.

Dumbledore began his annual welcoming ceremony, and the majority of students seemed totally captured by his deep, melodic voice. Draco, however, couldn't seem to focus on what he was saying. His mind was elsewhere, just as it had been all day. He managed to banish any unwanted thoughts long enough to hear Dumbledore announce the start of the feast.

The four long, wooden tables suddenly were suddenly covered in plates of delicious looking food, and the hall was filled with the sound of laughter and cheerful voices. Draco looked across the hall and saw everyone piling their plates up with all sorts of meat, potatoes and vegetables, took one glance down at his empty plate and realised he had totally lost his appetite. He got up calmly and headed towards the huge wooden doors on the opposite end of the hall. Crabbe and Goyle were far too engrossed in their food to notice Draco's swift exit, however Professor Snape, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Slytherin house, spotted him immediately and followed him swiftly out of the hall.

'Where do you think you're going, Malfoy?' Snape asked Draco in his slow, deep voice. He eyed him suspiciously as Draco swung around, his eyes full of fear. Even though Snape was head of Slytherin and seemed to show a strong bias towards Draco and his friends, they still knew better than to get on the wrong side of him.

'Oh, I feel sick, Professor,' Draco stumbled over his words, 'I thought I should go and take a lie down in the common room.'

Snape paused for a moment, seeming unconvinced, but eventually he nodded, turned on his heel, and walked briskly back into the Great Hall, his long black robe flowing gracefully behind him.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down at the bottom of the sweeping stairs that led to the Grand Staircase. He noticed how quiet and serene it was there, and decided to make the most of his time alone. He made his way towards the dungeons, realising he would have the common room entirely to himself. Most students who had the school to themselves would go and discover secret passages, or break into classrooms and find answer sheets for exams, but right now Draco just felt like drifting into a deep sleep and forgetting everything that was going on in the school and in his head.

As he entered the dungeons, Draco noticed the door to the Potions classroom was slightly ajar. He slipped quietly inside to take a look around. He remembered this was Snape's classroom in previous years, and thought back the end of last year when he had seen Snape confiscating a large bottle of firewhiskey from a group of fourth years and now wondered if the ex-Potions master had anything similar stowed away in his mysterious storeroom.

Draco cast Alohomora on the locked door. Its hinges creaked as he pushed it open. Inside, the walls were lined with endless shelves and cabinets, stocked densely with bottles and vials of all different kinds of glowing liquids and potions. Draco was probably one of the only students to have seen inside this storeroom, as it was off limits to students and Snape usually kept it well guarded. If he knew a student had been in here… Draco shuddered at the thought.

He scanned the shelves quickly, trying to find something with some sort of alcoholic content. Going through endless bottles of dangerous and toxic looking liquids, he began to lose hope. Then, just as he was about to give up entirely, he spotted the exact same bottle that had been confiscated the previous year. Draco stretched up and grabbed the heavy bottle off the top shelf and opened it. He took a sip and winced, it was a lot stronger than he'd expected. Replacing the cap, he headed back towards the common room, making sure to lock the door on his way out.

Back in the common room, Draco flopped down on the green leather sofa and took a swig of firewhiskey. It felt as though a fire was burning down his throat, but the sensation helped to take his mind off everything, including Harry, for a while. He didn't know how long he spent sitting, drinking and staring into space, but soon enough he heard the footsteps of his fellow Slytherins returning from the Great Hall. He came to his senses and tried to stand up, but ended up collapsing over the coffee table. Draco tried again, this time more slowly, and managed to stagger across the room and hide inside a closet, the nearly empty bottle nestled in his arms, just as the other students entered the room. Draco drank the remainder of the alcohol and set the bottle down next to him. Closing his eyes, he curled up and shut out the noise from the common room. Within minutes, he was fast asleep and totally oblivious to the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Draco rubbed his eyes wearily and sat up. A searing pain shot through his head and he let out a yelp. His hand shot to his forehead and he quickly worked out that moving just made the pain worse. He noticed he wasn't in his dormitory or his bed at home, but in some sort of small, dark room. Draco felt around, and managed to push a door open. He tumbled out, closely followed by a large glass bottle. Picking it up, he groaned and sat up against the closet he'd somehow managed to spend the night in. He heard heavy footsteps approaching and each one made him feel as though he was being hit over the head with a sledgehammer.

'Morning, Draco,' Crabbe bellowed cheerfully. He saw the state Draco was in and his jaw dropped. 'What the bloody hell happened to you?'

Draco ran his hands through his hair. 'Do I really look that bad?' He caught sight of himself in a mirror and his eyes widened. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his face was almost as pale as his white shirt and his light blond hair was sticking out all over the place. Crabbe spotted the empty bottle in his hand and gasped.

'H-how did you get that?' he asked Draco, his usually booming voice now close to a whisper. Draco racked his brain, desperately trying to remember. He glanced down at the bottle and seemed to remember being in the Potions storeroom. His face filled with horror. Draco described the vague details that he could remember to Crabbe.

'Remember though, my father will NOT hear about this, understand?' Draco warned Crabbe. He didn't want to think about what would happen if his strict father knew about what had happened the previous night.

Crabbe nodded silently. 'Well you'd better get a move on, classes start in half an hour, everyone's already at breakfast getting their timetables,' Crabbe said, seeming anxious that all the other students were in the Great Hall, getting all the best food. Draco sensed this and told him to go and join them. Crabbe muttered his thanks and shuffled quickly towards the door.

Draco decided to skip breakfast and go to the Great Hall five minutes before lessons started to get his timetable. After all, he needed to get a shower and tidy himself up before going to lessons. Reaching the bathroom, he peeled off his crumpled uniform and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water run over his body. The sensation slowly helped to ease his headache, even though unwanted thoughts from the night before kept flooding back. Draco remembered his strange encounters with Harry, and his lip wavered slightly at the thought of having to spend a whole day in his company. Draco hated how amazing everyone thought Harry was. He hated how much better than him Harry was at everything. But most of all, he hated the fact that he was forced to hate him. Draco let out a quiet sob, feeling no more relaxed than he had before. He switched the water off and reached for a towel. Running his hands through his soaking wet hair, he headed for the dormitory to get ready.

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><p>Draco sauntered casually into the Great Hall as if nothing had happened. He looked just as smart as usual, his pale blond hair slicked back and his uniform spotless. A few students shot confused stares at him due to his late entrance, including Harry, but they all thought better than to question him about it. Nobody liked to get on the wrong side of Draco Malfoy. His family were extremely powerful and influential, and his parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, were Death Eaters, the name given to followers of the Dark Lord.<p>

Draco found himself a seat at the Slytherin table, making sure he had his back to Harry. He wasn't in the mood for evil glares from him and his good-for-nothing friends. Draco sat next to Blaise Zabini, another sixth year at Hogwarts. Blaise was very reserved, and didn't often make conversation with anyone, but he seemed to be flirting rather unsubtly with Pansy Parkinson, a popular Slytherin girl in the same year as Draco. The two students turned to smile at him, not showing any signs of surprise at his tardiness. Draco was grateful for this.

Across the table, Crabbe and Goyle were tucking into what seemed like enough food to feed the entire school. Seeing as it was the only food left on the table, and Draco hadn't had any breakfast, he reached forward and grabbed a croissant off of Goyle's plate. He let out a cry of dismay, but Draco simply rolled his eyes at him and took a bite out of the slightly stale croissant.

Just as he swallowed the last bite, the huge doors swung open and the four heads of house, Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape, walked in, carrying stacks of paper which Draco knew by now to be each student's lesson timetable for the year. Professor Snape was striding purposefully down the Slytherin table, handing out timetables to each of the students in his house. He finally reached Draco, and bent down to mutter something in his ear as he slid the piece of parchment onto the table in front of him.

'Feeling better now, Malfoy?' he asked, almost hissing as he said it.

For a moment Draco panicked, thinking Snape had found out about the firewhiskey he had stolen the previous night. Then he remembered the excuse he had made up about feeling sick, and managed to nod and croak out that he was okay. Snape pursed his lips and walked off, giving out the rest of the timetables. Draco was still shaking even after he'd left, and tried to steady his hand as his picked up his timetable so no one else would notice. Seeing he had Potions first lesson, Draco stood up from the table and walked briskly towards the dungeon, keeping his head down in order to avoid eye contact with anyone, especially Harry.

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><p>The rest of the term dragged by slowly for Draco. He received countless owls from his parents, reminding him to study hard so he could pass his N.E.W.T.s. Because of this, he dreaded getting his Christmas report, and hearing about all the amazing grades Harry Potter and his know-it-all friend Hermione Granger had achieved. When the reports were handed out, most students opened them eagerly, excited to find out their grades, but Draco simply stuffed his in his pocket, knowing he would get enough of a lecture from his parents at home. He looked out across the hall and, much to his surprise, noticed Harry had done the same. Draco tried to ignore the fact that he always seemed to instinctively look at Harry. He put it down to envy, seeing as the dark-haired boy seemed to have everything that Draco didn't, and had always wanted.<p>

Harry stood up and walked towards the door, and surprisingly his clingy entourage didn't go after him. Without thinking, Draco got up and followed him out of the hall. He almost felt as though he didn't want to end the term badly with Harry, even though that was exactly what he had done for the past six years. Draco didn't quite know what had come over him, but he felt like this was the right thing to do. His parents would never fully appreciate anything he did anyway, so there didn't seem much point in trying to please them anymore. Draco realised he had to do what he wanted to do, and not what his parents wanted.

Draco broke into a run when he saw Harry walking through the doors. They were now both alone in the Entrance Hall, although Harry had not yet noticed that Draco was with him.

'Harry!' Draco's voice shook as he caught up with him, and he realised this was possibly the first time he had ever called Harry by his first name. Harry seemed taken aback as well, he stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly to look Draco in the eye.

'What do you want, Malfoy?' Harry replied icily, though there also seemed to be a softer tone to his voice.

Draco suddenly realised he didn't know what he wanted to say to Harry. How could he turn around now, after all these years he had been so cruel to Harry and his friends, and just say sorry? He didn't think a long, heartfelt speech seemed appropriate either. Struggling to find anything in the middle of the two, he went for the first option.

'I'm sorry, Harry,' Draco muttered, dropping his gaze and wishing he'd never followed Harry out of the Great Hall in the first place.

Harry raised one eyebrow. 'Sorry for what?' he asked, looking rather confused.

Draco bit his lip. There was no way he'd be able to list everything he was sorry for, and absolutely no way he'd be able to explain why he was sorry, being that he didn't quite understand himself.

'If you're trying to apologise for being an incessant bully to me, then don't bother,' Harry said. 'It's not as if it'd mean anything to me, not after all these years of it.'

'You're not a bad person, Harry,' Draco said quietly, 'even I can see that, my parents have just never allowed me to think that. You don't know what it's like to grow up with a family who try to live your life for you. I've never been able to voice my own opinions, choose my own friends. I have to live up to these expectations, and if I don't, then I'm just a failure to my parents.' Draco suddenly realised he was pouring out his deepest secrets and emotions to the boy who had been his mortal enemy for so many years, and managed to stop himself before he said anymore.

'You think I don't know what that's like? Having to live up to expectations, growing up with a family who can't even accept me for who I am?' Harry was almost shouting as he said this. 'The Dursleys are the only family I have, and they can't stand the sight of me. You think you've got it hard, Malfoy. You wouldn't last a minute in my shoes.'

Draco lifted his gaze to stare straight into Harry's eyes. 'That's exactly why I'm sorry. I understand how hard it is for you. I shouldn't have made it worse for you, and I know it's too late, but I just want you to know, I really am sorry.'

The intense rage in Harry's eyes softened for a moment, but then he looked away, shaking his head. 'Prove it.'

Draco's face fell. He had no idea how he would be able to show Harry just how sorry he was. 'Harry, you've got to understand, I didn't want to treat you the way I have. My father works for the man who has wanted you dead since you were born. Growing up with my family I've hardly been encouraged to get friendly with you, and ever since I met you and you rejected my offer of friendship in our first year I've been trying to convince myself that I hate you. But I don't. I just can't bring myself to feel hate for you. Envy, yes. But not hate.'

Draco's words had obviously meant something to Harry, as his face filled with all sorts of mixed emotions. He even managed to crack a smile. 'You're not so bad yourself, Malfoy,' Harry said dryly, 'I'm not saying you're forgiven, just don't let yourself down.' Harry shot Draco a warning look, before walking silently towards the Grand Staircase. Draco watched as the dark-haired boy ascended the sweeping stairs and let out a sigh. He hoped Harry wouldn't mention their conversation to anyone; however he was almost certain that the know-it-all and the ginger would find out. Draco tried not to dwell on this too much and, knowing he didn't have much time until the end of term, decided to go and finish packing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The Christmas holidays were usually Draco's favourite part of the year, but this year he had too much on his mind to be able to enjoy it. He had given his parents his report as soon as he stepped foot into Malfoy Manor, and had somehow managed to survive their lecture on his grades. Draco hadn't really been listening though, his mind had been elsewhere ever since he'd apologised to Harry. He could hardly believe the dark haired boy had listened to what he'd had to say, let alone almost forgive him. Draco secretly hoped that they might even become friends by the end of the term.

On the last day of the holidays Draco managed to avoid his parents as much as possible and spent most of the day in his room, packing his things for school. He was still nervous about returning to Hogwarts after his exchange with Harry. He wasn't sure whether everything would go back to how it was before or Harry really would give Draco a chance to make up for his actions. His mind lingering on these thoughts, Draco curled up in bed and drifted off to sleep.

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><p>Draco woke up the next morning with a churning sensation in the pit of his stomach. Knowing he had to return to school that day, he dragged himself out of bed and got dressed sluggishly. Just as he finished putting on his green and silver Slytherin tie, there was a sharp rap at his door. 'Come in!' he called, and the door to his vast bedroom swung open. In walked one of the many servants who worked at Malfoy Manor, pushing a trolley of freshly prepared breakfast.<p>

'Morning Mr Malfoy,' he said cheerily, pushing the trolley into the centre of the room. 'Dear me, it's dark in here, why don't I open those curtains?' With a swish of his wand, the curtains gracefully slid open, letting a pale light spill into the usually gloomy room.

The weather was typical January weather, thick grey clouds formed a bleak canopy in the sky, and light raindrops fell silently onto the half-melted snow. Draco was pleased about this, it made a nice change from the heavy snowfall they'd been having for two weeks straight. Looking around his room, Draco saw that the servant had left and there were still a few stacks of books that needed to be packed into his trunk for school. He quickly grabbed his wand off his bedside table.

'Wingardium leviosa!' Draco said clearly, and with a swish and flick of his wand, the books levitated into the air and dropped neatly into his trunk. He closed the lid and, waving his wand, muttered "defigo" to make sure it was securely locked. The bulky trunk made a loud thud as Draco heaved it off the chest of drawers and onto the floor. Grabbing a slice of toast off of the breakfast tray, Draco left the room, dragging his trunk behind him.

The journey to Hogwarts was fairly uneventful, apart from Neville Longbottom losing his toad, Trevor, though this had now become a regular occurrence. Draco managed to sleep through most of the journey, as he wasn't in the mood to make conversation with his classmates. He was sharing a compartment with five other Slytherins who were all engaged in their own conversations, so didn't feel the need to talk to Draco. Blaise Zabini was deep in conversation with Pansy Parkinson, and the two seemed to be getting on like a house on fire, if Pansy's constant hair flicking and giggling was anything to go by. Vincent Crabbe and Millicent Bulstrode were also talking with their heads fairly close and Millicent blushing furiously. On the end of the seat, Gregory Goyle sat polishing his broom that he had received as a Christmas gift from his parents.

Draco was woken by a loud screeching noise. The train had arrived at Hogwarts and there was a frenzy as students left their compartments, the bustle causing Draco to wearily rub his eyes and follow his classmates off the train. Stepping out onto the busy platform, Draco tripped and fell into the back of a dark haired boy.

'Watch it!' he yelled at the third year who had tripped him up and was running off in fright. Draco straightened himself up, but as he was about to walk off, the boy he had fallen into turned around and Draco found himself staring straight into a pair of sparkling green eyes, partially hidden by a pair of round glasses.

'Oh, Harry, I-I'm sorry,' Draco stuttered, his cheeks going a dark shade of pink.

Harry's gaze dropped to his feet and he muttered something that Draco didn't quite hear. Before he could ask him what he'd said, Crabbe and Goyle turned up, laughing raucously at something or other.

'Look who it is,' Goyle sneered cruelly, 'famous Harry Potter. Have fun at your girlfriend's house over Christmas?'

Crabbe laughed. 'Not much of a house, is it?' he said tauntingly, as Ron Weasley turned around. 'I wouldn't go near it if someone paid me one hundred galleons, and it's not like you could afford that.'

'Shut up! Just shut up!'

At first Draco thought Ron was the source of this sudden outburst, but then he realised that nobody was looking at Ron. Every pair of eyes was directed at Draco. He had stood up for Harry and his friends without even thinking.

There was a long, awkward silence before anybody spoke again. Draco was frozen to the spot, unable to meet anyone's gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Crabbe and Goyle quietly sneaking off and thought he should probably leave too, but before he managed to walk away, a quiet voice started to speak.

'Thank you,' Harry said, his eyes filling with gratitude. Draco nodded quickly and made his way off the platform, wrapping his cloak around himself more tightly against the bitterly cold weather.

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><p>Draco's first lesson of the term was Potions, and was not looking forward to it like he normally would have. Professor Slughorn had taken over as Potions master at Hogwarts and for some reason Harry was now doing better than everyone at the particular subject, the only subject Draco had ever excelled at. However he tried not to hold it against Harry, and just put it down to Professor Slughorn's apparent bias towards "celebrities".<p>

Entering the classroom, Draco looked around and saw that most of the students had already arrived and were gathered in groups around large black cauldrons. Right at the front of the classroom was a group of Gryffindor students who already had their books out and were ready to start the lesson. Draco saw Harry walking over from a cupboard, clutching a rather battered looking book. Harry smiled nervously when he saw Draco then, looking embarrassed, scurried over to his seat. Draco followed suit and joined the Slytherins at the back of the classroom. None of them seemed to notice his entrance, which he was glad about as he wasn't in the mood for being interrogated about his strange behaviour the previous day.

'Good morning, class!' Professor Slughorn called across the classroom. 'We have a very exciting lesson ahead of us today. You will be mixing your own Draught of Living Death, an extremely powerful sleeping potion. Whoever manages to mix an acceptable Draught of Living Death will receive one phial of Felix Felicis, also known as liquid luck. Now, turn to page ten of your _Advanced Potion Making_ books. You have one hour, off you go!'

The class burst into action as the students collected up the necessary ingredients for the potion. Draco also suddenly felt more alert; he had heard of Felix Felicis before. It was a potion that would allow the drinker to succeed in all their endeavours. Even a small bottle of it would definitely come in handy. He quickly grabbed his book out of his bag and began making his potion.

Ten minutes before the end of the lesson, Draco checked his potion. Instead of being clear, as the book stated it should be, it was a murky brown colour, and it was bubbling violently. He didn't understand, he had followed the instructions perfectly, and he had never failed to make a potion before. Across the room, Professor Slughorn was leaning over Harry's potion and beaming excitedly.

'Fantastic, m'boy! Absolutely perfect! Here, take this Felix Felicis, you deserve it,' Professor Slughorn said to Harry, handing over the tiny glass bottle of the golden liquid. Draco felt a pang of envy, and looked sullenly down at his own questionable potion.

'Now, class, I'd like nine inches of parchment on the properties and uses of an ingredient of your choice from the potion you have just made by next Monday please!' said Professor Slughorn, still seeming ecstatic over the quality of Harry's Draught of Living Death.

Just as he finished noting down the homework, Draco heard the bell ring so he quickly stuffed his book back into his bag and made a beeline for the door. He had Transfiguration next with the Gryffindors, meaning another hour and a half with Harry. Draco couldn't bear the thought of Harry being better than him in another class, so he decided to skip the lesson and work on the Potions essay he had just been assigned. He began to make his way towards the library to get a book out on the ingredient asphodel, but before he even left the dungeons he felt a hand grab his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

Draco spun around and found himself face to face with Harry. He stifled a gasp; Harry had been the last person he'd expected to see, and the last person he'd wanted to see.

'Listen, I'll get straight to the point,' Harry said abruptly, not making eye contact with Draco, 'I never got to properly thank you for sticking up for me and my friends yesterday, it… well it meant a lot to me.'

Draco shrugged. 'It was the least I could do. Congratulations on the liquid luck and stuff, by the way.' Draco's voice trailed off slightly and he looked down at his feet, trying not to feel bitter.

'Thanks, I guess,' Harry mumbled, his cheeks going a deep red.

Draco couldn't help but smile at this. As he walked off up the stone steps, he wondered whether Harry really did enjoy all the attention so much after all.


End file.
